A trio of Brown University leaders are urging an informed campus discussion of issues raised by the publication of two racially charged opinion columns in the Brown Daily Herald.

In a letter to the faculty, Provost Richard M. Locke, President Christina Paxson and Executive Vice President Russell Carey said “many members” of the university community found the columns “deeply offensive.”

Locke, Paxson and Carey called for conversations on race, gender, campus culture and climate and related topics guided by academic leaders of an institution “committed to research, education and service.”

Is there a more totalitarian word these days than “conversations?”

In an editor’s note in the Wednesday newspaper, the Herald apologized for having published opinion columns by Brown student M. Dzhali Maier.

Editors’ Note: This column did not meet TheHerald’s standards for writing and clarity, and, more importantly, contained several factual inaccuracies regarding biology and race that cannot be corrected without compromising the argument of the entire column. The column relied on the repeatedly disproven premise that race is a biological category. TheHerald regrets the publication of the column. We apologize to our readers for the factual errors and offensive claims made in it and for the shortcomings of our editorial process. In an effort to be transparent about our mistake, we are leaving the column online. We initially made the decision to publish the column, as we generally edit opinions columns for style and clarity alone, giving our columnists great leeway in making their argument as part of our commitment to freedom of expression. We regret that decision and believe it’s clear that this column crossed the line from an opinion we merely disagree with to one that has no place in our paper. The Herald is committed to an accurate and thoughtful opinions section, and we are taking steps to prevent similar issues in the future. Though we continue to strive to promote a venue for the free exchange of ideas, we do not and will not tolerate racism. We invite readers to send responses to letters@browndailyherald.com.

I know it sounds nuts, but lots of people really do believe this “Race is not a biological category” talking point. Sure, it’s incredibly stupid, but then you can get in lots of trouble these days for not being incredibly stupid. So a lot of people find it safest just to be stupid, as Orwell noted in the definition of “crimestop” or “protective stupidity.” Back to the Providence Journal:

… In the letter to faculty dated Sunday, signed by Locke, the trio of leaders said any faculty needing support or assistance should contact the office of institutional diversity and inclusion and the office of campus life, among other resources, that have expertise in facilitating the conversations.

1 Comment

US National Institute of Health, 2002:
“Pharmacogenetic research in the past few decades has uncovered significant differences among racial and ethnic groups in the metabolism, clinical effectiveness, and side-effect profiles of many clinically important drugs”….”Genetic factors, however, are the major determinants of the normal variability
in drug effects. “….”Beta-blockers Isoproterenol; Black vs. White men; Vasodilation response to isoproterenol markedly lower in Blacks” —https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2594139/pdf/jnma00329-0002.pdf

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